I’m looking for MORE in 2016. I am happily married. I have an adoring husband, but I want more. I want my marriage to flourish even greater. I want God to do more in my marriage and in my home.

Sound familiar?

Maybe you’re saying to yourself that you’re married but not so happily, or you’re newly married and want to build a solid foundation, or you’ve simply come to a place of maturity in yourself and in your marriage where you realize you want and CAN HAVE MORE!

I challenge you! I challenge you to get what God has for you, because the only one holding you up is YOU!

Join my husband, Jon, and I as we challenge what you thought was possible in your marriage over the course of 12-months, beginning January 1, 2016. Here’s what the challenge consists of:

a monthly challenge (12 challenges) no sneak peek!

Monthly Private Periscope Check-in

Prayer….Communication…Consistency!

That’s it!

The challenge is completely free and as I said, Jon and I will be going through this right along with you.

BUYER BEWARE…CAUTION…DISCLAIMER

This is not fun and games where you get a nicely wrapped prize at the end. We’re going to get our hands dirty! We’re going to dig deep! You’re going to be forced to address some of those issues you’ve been trying to avoid or pretend don’t exist. You’re going to feel uncomfortable. You’re going to be vulnerable.

But…you’re going to grow!

This challenge is not for everyone. If you feel like your marriage is fine where it’s at, if you feel like you know enough about your spouse and your spouse knows enough about you just how things are, then this is not for you. Again, this is for the couples who want more!

Ideally this challenge is for couples to go through together, but you can take this individually as well.

Enrollment ends December 31st. Click the link to join us in this challenge.

Your Girl,

p.s. Jon and I have been married for 10 years (in May). We have 4 children under eight years old and our marrige HAS. BEEN. TRIED! God has done far more than we ever expected. For the past six years, we have ministered to young adults through a series of meet-ups on various topics relevent to Christian living.

MARRIAGE CONVERSATIONS: Week of Thanks Challenge

For the week leading up to Thanksgiving, you are being challeged to pray over yourself and your relationships in specific ways. Join me in this challenge as we strengthen the important relationships in our lives.

By the end of this challenge you’ll be in the middle of enjoying some good food with good people. I pray that your Thanksgiving holiday is filled with laughter and joy. I ask God to step into those situations where peace is more than an arms length. I ask God to give you a spirit of grace and reconciliation and will allow you to exercise the 3 principles to a successful relationship, Prayer, Communication and Consistency!

]]>https://fashiondujourdaily.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/marriage-conversations-weekofthankschallenge/feed/0fashiondujourdailythanksgiving main graphicgratitudepurpopsewot3wot4wot5wot6wot7lesliesignature[WEBINAR] How to Leverage Facebook to Grow Your Business or Bloghttps://fashiondujourdaily.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/webinar-how-to-leverage-facebook-to-grow-your-business-or-blog/
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One of the best things you can do for yourself is to invest in yourself. If you enjoy sewing, it might be wise to invest in some classes to hone your skill. If you enjoy web design, it might be wise to take a course to specialize in a particular design style and so forth. If you’re in business, it makes sense to invest in some ways to grow your audience and customer base.

On Sunday 22nd at 6:30 pm PST I am teaching bloggers and business owners how to increase their audience and grow their businesses using Facebook Groups. I have been blogging since 2006 and have a ton of experience in doing things the wrong way. As a result, I have learned how to do things the right way, efficiently and effectively.

During this 1-hour LIVE webinar, I’ll be teaching the steps I use to grow my audience.

I’ll show you how to:

1. Use the content within FB Groups to increase your site traffic and exposure.

4. Put into action the 5 “MUST DO & DON’T’s” for every FB Group you’re a member of.

5. Speak directly to your customer and convert!

I’m really excited about sharing this information because I know these strategies work. My blog and consequential business opportunities are proof.

So as yourself, where do you see your business in the next year? January is on our heels and we’re going to be in 2016 before we know it. Be the entrepreneur you tell people you are and invest in yourself.

ENTITLEMENT AND WORTHINESS

Entitlement is the joy killer.

Take for example Halloween. Set aside the fact that Halloween is not a holiday that I celebrate as a Christian. Any other day of the year, hand a kid a chocolate bar and he’ll be thrilled. Do it on Halloween and it’s worth almost nothing.

When you receive something you feel entitled to, something expected, that you believe you’ve earned, it’s not worth much. And when you don’t receive it, you’re furious. After all, it’s yours. Already yours. And you didn’t get it. Whether you’re wearing a cat costume or showing up as a surgeon after years of medical school, entitlement guarantees that you won’t get what you need.

Worthiness, on the other hand, is an essential part of receiving anything. When you feel unworthy, any kind response, positive feedback or reward feels like a trick, a scam, the luck of the draw. It’s hardly worth anything, because you decided in advance, before you got the feedback, that you weren’t worthy.

It’s possible to feel worthy without feeling entitled. Humility and worthiness have nothing at all to do with defending our territory. We don’t have to feel like a fraud to also be gracious, open or humble.

Both entitlement and unworthiness are the work of the enemy. They make us bitter, encourage us to be ungenerous, keep us stuck.

The entitled yet frightened voice says, “What’s the point of contributing if those people aren’t going to appreciate it sufficiently?” And the defensive unworthy voice says, “What’s the point of shipping the work if I don’t think I’m worthy of being paid attention to…”

God owes each of us nothing. Hard work and the dangerous commitment to doing something that matters doesn’t get us a guaranteed wheelbarrow of prizes… but what it does do is help us understand our worth in God’s eyes. That worth, over time, should become an obligation, the chance to do our best work and to contribute to communities we care about just as God does for us on a daily basis.

When the work is worth it, make more of it, because you can, and because God blessed you to share it.

“I’m not worthy,” isn’t a useful way to respond to success. And neither is, “that’s it?”

It might be better if we were just a bit better at saying, “thank you.” – Seth Godin

14 DAY RELATIONSHIPS CHALLENGE – DAY 14

CHALLENGE: Take an “usie” picture again! What’s the difference between Day 1 and today?

It’s Day 14 of the 14 Day Relationship Challenge. Today’s challenge is to take another selfie. I want you to capture how you feel today. Do you feel any different than you did on day 1?

PRAYER

Dear God, Thank you for giving us the desire to strengthen our marriages. Continue to work patience and grace into our lives daily. Help those who are still doing the challenge or will begin the challenge to do so prayerfully because we know that only you can change our hearts. Thank you for your continual blessings in every area of our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

OBSERVATION

I noticed that I think about my husband more often than ever before. He’s constantly on my mind. I’m more intentional with the moments we share and I try my best to show him that I’m actively listening. What’s cool is that I do it without having to think about it. Since my attention has been so directly focused on him and our marriage, I find myself instinctively doing the challenge tasks without having to thing about them.

How to join? That’s up to you! It’s completely your choice how you participate in this challenge. Truly, what matters to me is that you are putting these prompts into action prayerfully and intentionally. I want you to see the fruits of your labor when it’s all said and done. Here’s how you can follow along: (1) Check back here to find the daily prompt along with my encouragement, prayer and observations from the previous day. (2) Check out my Instagram where you’ll also see the daily prompts and can engage other participants. (3) Watch the live Periscope episodes over the course of these 14 days where you’ll find me talking about my observations in addition to tackling a Marriage Conversations Topic. Finally, (4) you’ll find a video dedicated to this challenge, with all the details and each day spelled out for you. This is in case you’re catching this on the 15th day and you really want to participate. The beauty is there’s no such thing as a late start. Anytime is a great time to start doing these things in your relationships. #MARRIAGECONVERSATIONS

14 DAY RELATIONSHIPS CHALLENGE – DAY 13

CHALLENGE: GIVE YOUR SPOUSE ALL OF YOU. THAT MEANS, PUT THE PHONE DOWN, CLOSE THE LAPTOP, TAKE THE EARPIECE OUT AND BE PRESENT.

There are so many distractions today, but not just technology is to blame. We are distracted by society’s pressure to “succeed”. We are distracted by the tempting imagery in the media. We are distracted by our thoughts and “priorities. Don’t allow the distractions of life to make your spouse feel like he|she is anything less than your first earthly priority. Give your spouse ALL of you.

I was recently asked how to make your spouse feel like a priority when balancing significant responsibilities outside the home. There’s no big revelation here. All you need to do is MAKE her|him the priority. Your spouse should never feel like he|she is competing for your attention. When this happens you enter into a very dangerous zone. Marriage is like bathing. You can’t expect to keep bathing in the same bath water, day after day, year after year and come out fresh, clean and feeling good. You need to get rid of the old bath water and add some soap. The same needs and expectations you each had when you got married may not be the same needs and expectations you have now. You have to do something different.

Be the husband|wife you think you are. Make your spouse the priority.

PRAYER

Dear God, I ask that you’ll help those who take on today’s task to have focus. Help them to make their spouses the priority in their marriage. Do not allow the every day distractions and “urgencies” take control. Help us to let go of our attempts to multi-task. Redirect our focus Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

OBSERVATION

I could easily say that I don’t know how successful I was with this day’s challenge because of my 4 kids and all the attention they require but when it comes down to it, you make time for what’s important to you. While I didn’t complete #fail at this challenge, I do feel like I could have and can give more. The challenge continues.

How to join? That’s up to you! It’s completely your choice how you participate in this challenge. Truly, what matters to me is that you are putting these prompts into action prayerfully and intentionally. I want you to see the fruits of your labor when it’s all said and done. Here’s how you can follow along: (1) Check back here to find the daily prompt along with my encouragement, prayer and observations from the previous day. (2) Check out my Instagram where you’ll also see the daily prompts and can engage other participants. (3) Watch the live Periscope episodes over the course of these 14 days where you’ll find me talking about my observations in addition to tackling a Marriage Conversations Topic. Finally, (4) you’ll find a video dedicated to this challenge, with all the details and each day spelled out for you. This is in case you’re catching this on the 15th day and you really want to participate. The beauty is there’s no such thing as a late start. Anytime is a great time to start doing these things in your relationships. #MARRIAGECONVERSATIONS

For the past several months we’ve been talking on Periscope about love, relationships, communication, and marriage during a series called Marriage Conversations. If you’re not familiar with Periscope, it’s a live broadcasting platform where viewers can comment and interact live. We’ve talked about so many great topics like such as:

As a result of some of my offline conversations, I thought it would be helpful to a create a mini-workbook to help us take a closer look at ourselves and the status of our relationships. You can download this mini-workbook for free below.

14 DAY RELATIONSHIPS CHALLENGE – DAY 12

CHALLENGE: CHECK YOU JOB DESCRIPTION AND MAKE SURE YOU’RE DOING THE JOB YOU SIGNED UP FOR.

Power-struggles exist in marrigaes all across the US. Husbands and wives get confused about their roles in marriage and when it gets out of hand, they find themselves in divorce court. Case in point, I’m sure you’ve heard of the reality show, Keeping up with the Kardashians. If not, the show follows the lives of Kim Kardashian and her family. Her mother, Kris Jenner, is the highly respected leader of the pack. She is in charge of the order of the entire house. Kris’ husband, Bruce Jenner, is essentially left alone to live his life in the garage with his helicopters and golf clubs. He is completely emasculated, treated as one of the children and garners no respect. This is what I call the Bruce Jenner Syndrome.

The Bruce Jenner Syndrome is a situation where the husband is no longer filling the role God intended for the family. He is not respected. He is not the head of the house and he is powerless. It’s easy to point the finger and say that these husbands need to grow a backbone, but the trouble doesn’t always point back to the husband, sometimes it points back to the wife. Is the wife overstepping her boundries as a wife. Is she operating out of her job description?

Society places great importance on indepdence, especially for women. The expectations for personal and professional succes are increasingly greater as the years go by. As a result, some women have a hard time drawing a line between their job description at work and their job description at home, which causes a power-struggle. This power-struggle typically results in the husband being stripped of his God-given power as head of the house. Shortly after, the wife will begin to complain that the husband is not strong, that he’s weak and that he’s not a “good” head of house. This is a delicate area in marriage and requires prayer. Think about how you’re going about your day. Wives, are you functioning in your role as the helpmate to your husband? Do you need to give your husband back the head of household power? Husbands, are you functioning in your role as the leader of the house? Are you walking in the power God has given you by making sound decisions and communicating with your wife?

PRAYER

Dear God, Help us to recognize the error in our ways and help us to reconcile our relationships so that we may live the life of abundance you created for us. Allow us to ignore the pressure and expectations that society lays on us and help us to focus our attention on you. We love you Lord and we thank you in advance for restoring us in our right places in this sacred union. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

OBSERVATIONS

Of all of the challenges, this is probably the one I struggle with the least. I have no problem falling into place. LOL I can’t pinpoint when but somewhere along my life’s journey I gave up trying to be in control of everything. I am happy to allow my husband to take the trash out, put gas in the car, take care of the bills. Not having to do these things frees up my mind to do other important things. I know what you’re thinking? Well, my husband’s strength isn’t in taking care of the bills and those other responsibilities so I have to do it. Well, it may be true that your husband isn’t the best at paying the bills on time or remembering other responsiblities, but is that because he’s never been given the opportunity to try? How we handle our husbands is critical to how they will behave. If you treat them with respect and set the expectation that they will figure out how to be responsible in some of these areas, to our surprise they’ll likely rise to the occassion. Whether that means they figure it out, or they come to you and say, “you’re better at handling the finances, I’ll take on some of your responsiblities instead.”

How to join? That’s up to you! It’s completely your choice how you participate in this challenge. Truly, what matters to me is that you are putting these prompts into action prayerfully and intentionally. I want you to see the fruits of your labor when it’s all said and done. Here’s how you can follow along: (1) Check back here to find the daily prompt along with my encouragement, prayer and observations from the previous day. (2) Check out my Instagram where you’ll also see the daily prompts and can engage other participants. (3) Watch the live Periscope episodes over the course of these 14 days where you’ll find me talking about my observations in addition to tackling a Marriage Conversations Topic. Finally, (4) you’ll find a video dedicated to this challenge, with all the details and each day spelled out for you. This is in case you’re catching this on the 15th day and you really want to participate. The beauty is there’s no such thing as a late start. Anytime is a great time to start doing these things in your relationships. #MARRIAGECONVERSATIONS